Chapter 233: Must One Accept One’s Fate as a Human Being?

“Five men actually got bewitched by a little girl! If not for her sudden hesitation and my timely return, you would have… You really are a bunch of fools!”
When this thunderous outburst rang out in Zhang Li’s hometown house, the people kneeling on the ground couldn’t help shrinking their necks. Lian Sheng and Lian Hu kept their heads bowed in silence, while Lu Ba and the others wished they could burrow into a crack in the ground. Xi Er bit her lip tightly, her face pale. As for Zhang Li, he sat on the small stool with a mournful expression, not daring to speak at all.
Zhang Yue, sitting on the kang, rubbed his still-painful temples with a grim expression before casting a cold glance at the girl. To be fair, this young girl was quite attractive—her eyes sparkled, her lips curved in a smile, exuding a natural charm that was exactly the type men liked. At that time, he was drunk, and who knew what she had put in his drink. If not for her sudden hesitation and Hu Qi’s timely return, who knows what mess might have happened.
“Sir, it’s all my fault… I failed to teach them properly!” Zhang Li was utterly confused by Hu Qi’s continuous scolding and deeply regretted flattery so excessively, almost causing a disaster. He now hated his granddaughter, whom he usually liked, and wished to use family discipline to punish her to vent his anger at Zhang Yue. After a while, he stammered, “It’s her own mistakes. No matter if you beat or scold her, even if you kill her, I won’t complain!”
“Miss Xi Er, have you seen me before today?” Zhang Yue asked in a deep voice. Seeing the girl kneeling there shaking her head firmly, he asked again, “Then have you heard of me?”
When Xi Er shook her head again, Zhang Li felt as if misfortune had befallen his family with such a monster. He then shouted angrily, “Then why in the world would you go crazy and dare to put such drugs in there! Where did you get these? Confess quickly! Otherwise… otherwise I’ll risk losing my face and have you tied up to be taken back to the yamen for thorough interrogation…”
Zhang Yue waved his hand to signal Zhang Li to stop scolding, then asked slowly, “Miss Xi Er, since you didn’t know each other before, where did you get those powder drugs, and why did you put them in my drink?”
“I…”

Although she was kneeling there, Xi Er felt her calves trembling as if they were shaking like sieves. Zhang Yue simply asked a few questions in a calm tone, yet she felt her heart pounding in her throat, almost to the point of suffocation. At that moment, she felt both regret and relief—regretful for having miscalculated due to her naivety, and relieved that no grave mistake had been made. Yet even so, even if she passed Zhang Yue’s test, her grandfather would still kill her!

After thinking it over, she decided to go all in and said bravely, “I bought the medicinal powder a long time ago through someone else. I originally planned to use it to drug wild boars in winter. I brought it out today because I don’t want to marry that dull and stupid man in three months. Hearing that your family is wealthy, I made a mistake! I take full responsibility for my actions. Please don’t blame my grandfather or my family. I accept whatever punishment, whether imprisonment or death!”

Faced with her immediate confession, Zhang Yue remained unmoved and asked further, “How did you know my family is wealthy?”

“Isn’t it well-known throughout Qingzhou Prefecture?” Xi Er replied in surprise. Seeing Zhang Yue’s furrowed brows, she faintly sensed there was something fishy about this. Suddenly, it seemed like she had grasped a lifeline. “I heard it from Brother Yue when I was returning from buying wine. He said your family has been wealthy for two generations as dukes, and that your maids even have eight or ten silver hairpins each. I don’t want to stay in this small village forever, living a dull life, getting married, having children, working in the fields all day, and ending up exhausted from cooking until old age. That’s why I thought of using the medicinal powder I bought earlier.”

Xi Er still wasn’t telling the truth. She didn’t dare mention that the medicinal powder was meant as a tool to drug her husband on their wedding day so she could escape. Instinctively, she felt that although Zhang Yue didn’t like her like the village boys did, he didn’t seem to despise her for what she had done. At least, if he did, that dislike was far less than that of her grandfather.

She just wanted a better life—she didn’t want to become a clumsy housewife like her grandmother!

Zhang Yue had already sensed something was off, so he asked directly, “Who is this Brother Yue?”

“He’s a friend brought back by my elder brother. He’s been to our house a few times before.”

Because the other party had once given her a beautifully crafted hair ornament, Xi Er always thought Yue Changtian was a good person. Now, when Zhang Yue asked, she vaguely felt that Yue Changtian’s words carried a hint of incitement, which made her feel annoyed. So, she carefully repeated all of Yue Changtian’s words and, fearing it might not be enough, even described his appearance in detail.
“A tall man with a beard, eight feet tall?”
This image immediately matched one mentioned by Qiu Hen earlier. Zhang Yue immediately jumped up from the kang and quickly sorted through all the clues. It seemed like just a trivial trick by a shallow girl, but when connected to the near-disorder that had occurred earlier that morning, he could sense some kind of conspiracy. If it weren’t for the meal and drunkenness at his hometown, he would have been near Le’an by now. Could something be wrong there?
With these thoughts, he no longer cared about the selfishness of a young girl. He immediately took the lotus-green silk-lined cloak handed to him by Hu Qi and put it on, then said to Old Zhang Li, “She knew when to stop at a critical moment—she at least has some sense of shame. Don’t be too harsh on her. If today’s incident gets out, her reputation will be ruined for life, and it will also harm your family’s reputation. Remember my instructions—first, investigate carefully how that scythe was thrown!”
Seeing Zhang Yue leave in a hurry with his followers without looking back, horse hooves could be heard outside shortly after. Old Zhang Li then wiped his forehead and found it greasy and wet. Thinking about how what should have been a good opportunity had turned into such a scare, and seeing his granddaughter kneeling there in a daze, he suddenly stood up, stepped forward quickly, and slapped her hard.
“You stupid girl! You almost killed the whole family! Don’t you even know to look in the mirror? How could we, ordinary peasants, aspire to be associated with such noble people? Go back to your room and accept your fate! No matter how hard you try, you’ll always remain a peasant woman—never a lady or a mistress!”
After receiving that heavy slap, Xi Er silently stood up. Before leaving the room, she glanced back. Seeing her grandfather standing there, not even glancing at her, pounding his fist and muttering to himself, she couldn’t help but curl her lips slightly.
One must accept one’s fate… But why? Just because those people were born into the wombs of noble women?

He spurred his horse onto the main road, but after riding another arrow’s distance, Zhang Yue reined in his horse. No matter why they had said those things to Xi Er, or why they had resorted to such an unnecessary trick, it was already too late for him to head to Le’an. A gentleman does not stand beneath a dangerous wall—at least not for now; there was no need to take risks.

“Hu Qi, investigate today’s incident thoroughly later. If you can’t handle it, seek help from there.”

Apart from serving as a guard, this was the second unusual task Hu Qi had received so far, but he nodded without hesitation. Then he cast a disapproving glance at the three brothers—had today’s mistake not ended up without the worst consequences, they would really have died!

It was already the evening hour in Qingzhou by the time they returned, and the city gates would close in half an hour. The soldiers guarding the gates recognized Zhang Yue, who often came and went, so they greeted him warmly, offering both greetings and pleasantries with great enthusiasm. After he left, the group divided up the small sum of reward money and discussed where to go for a drink after their shift, once again marveling at Lord Zhang’s generosity.

He went straight to his official residence. Entering the main room in the inner courtyard and lifting the curtain, he was met by Qiu Hen. Zhang Yue casually took off his cloak and handed it to her before sitting down on the kang. With the weather no longer requiring a heated kang and the stove removed from the room, it was still much warmer inside thanks to the thick cotton curtains at the door. After sitting for a short while, Qiu Hen, who had gone out to bring food, entered through the curtain and went straight into the inner room. Soon, she came out smiling, holding a letter.

“Young master, this was sent by our father in Nanjing.”

Since the New Year, Zhang Yue had not received any letters from his father in the south, unlike those from his grandmother in Beijing or the British mansion. He quickly took the letter and skimmed through it. The joy on his face turned somewhat complicated—although having a new family member was a happy occasion, it wasn’t his mother, Sun Shi, who was pregnant, but his father’s concubine, Hong Luan. Thinking that he would soon have a half-brother or half-sister, he gently stroked his chin for a moment.

“Qiu Hen, tomorrow you and Lingxi Hupo should search the warehouse. If there’s any donkey-hide gelatin or similar items suitable for women, pack them up and send them to Nanjing as soon as possible.”

Qiu Hen was initially stunned, then asked in surprise and delight, “Could it be that the madam is pregnant again?”

“It’s Concubine Chu who is pregnant. Though we don’t know whether it’s a brother or a sister, we must show our utmost care.”

Zhang Yue was about to give more instructions when suddenly the voice of the Cui family was heard outside. Qiu Hen didn’t even have time to think about how the master and mistress had always been affectionate for each other—how could an unpopular concubine suddenly become pregnant? She hurried outside to find out and soon returned in a rush.
“Young master, Lord Ling is asking for you. It seems someone has robbed people in front of the Prince of Le’an’s mansion, and there have even been deaths—it’s a serious incident!”